9:53
Watch This Before You Start Commissions (And why I Quit)
Finalwish
Overview
This video provides a practical guide for artists looking to open commissions, moving beyond the initial overwhelm of marketing and legalities. It covers essential setup steps, including choosing the right platform (independent website, Ko-fi, Artstry, VGen), understanding crucial legal terms like commercial use and refund policies, and preventing chargeback scams. The video also emphasizes building a community through engaging content and warns against the common pitfall of underpricing, ultimately encouraging artists to align commission work with their personal artistic joy to avoid burnout.
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Chapters
- You need a dedicated space to showcase your art, prices, and terms, rather than relying on direct messages.
- An independent website offers full profit control but requires more client trust and manual management.
- Platforms like Ko-fi, Artstry, and VGen automate tasks like order management and offer varying fee structures and features.
- Ko-fi is easy to set up with no platform fees on commissions, but requires manual workflow tracking.
- Artstry is artist-focused, free for artists (client pays a fee), automates processes, and includes AI verification.
- VGen is ideal for anime/VTuber styles, is community-based with verification, but charges artists a fee and has a strict entry process.
Choosing the right platform balances ease of use, cost, and features, directly impacting your efficiency and client experience when managing commission requests.
Ko-fi is described as a digital tip jar that evolved into a business platform, suitable for easy setup but lacking automated workflow tracking.
- Establish clear Terms of Service (TOS) that include realistic deadlines to manage client expectations and avoid stress.
- Differentiate between personal use (display, non-monetized sharing) and commercial use (resale, branding), charging extra for the latter.
- Implement a tiered refund policy based on project progress (e.g., 100% before sketching, 50% during line art, 0% after rendering) to protect your time and effort.
- Prevent chargebacks by requiring 100% upfront payment and saving all progress screenshots and client approvals as evidence.
Understanding and implementing these legal boundaries protects you from financial loss, client disputes, and exploitation, ensuring fair compensation for your work.
A tiered refund policy example: 100% refund before sketching, 50% during line art, and 0% once rendering begins.
- Clients often commission artists not just for the style, but because they connect with the artist's personality and content.
- Create unique content that builds a community around your art, rather than using generic captions.
- Share behind-the-scenes glimpses of your process, daily life, or project diaries to engage viewers.
- Educate your audience by sharing art tips and tutorials, establishing trust and authority.
- Reimagine existing designs or frame your art within compelling narratives (lore, comics, personal journeys) to give viewers a reason to connect.
Effective marketing focuses on building relationships and showcasing your unique value beyond just the artwork itself, attracting clients who resonate with you as an artist.
Sharing 'day in the life' clips or project diaries with your drawing process in the background, casually mentioning if the piece is a commission.
- Underpricing devalues your work, attracts clients who only seek cheap art, and harms the broader art community.
- Charge prices that reflect the true value of your time, skill, and effort to ensure a sustainable income.
- Reflect on your core motivation for creating art and ensure commission work aligns with your genuine artistic joy.
- Perfectionism can hinder progress and lead to burnout; aim for satisfying work rather than unattainable perfection.
- Balancing commission demands with personal artistic fulfillment is crucial to prevent burnout and maintain passion.
Sustainable artistic careers require fair pricing and a connection to the intrinsic joy of creating, preventing burnout and ensuring long-term passion for your craft.
The speaker quit commissions because their urge to create wasn't aligned with the demands of commissions, and perfectionism hindered their ability to deliver on time and quality.
Key takeaways
- Choosing the right commission platform involves weighing features, fees, and your capacity for manual management.
- Clear legal terms (deadlines, usage rights, refunds) are non-negotiable for protecting yourself and your clients.
- Preventing chargebacks requires upfront payment and diligent record-keeping of all communications and approvals.
- Building a community around your art through engaging content is more effective than generic marketing.
- Clients buy into the artist as much as the art; connect with them personally.
- Pricing your art appropriately is vital for sustainability and respects the value of your work and the art community.
- Aligning commission work with your personal artistic joy is key to preventing burnout.
- Striving for satisfying completion over unattainable perfection is essential for mental health and productivity.
Key terms
CommissionsCommission SheetIndependent WebsitePlatform FeesTerms of Service (TOS)Personal UseCommercial UseRefund PolicyChargebackUnderpricingBurnout
Test your understanding
- What are the main advantages and disadvantages of using an independent website versus a dedicated platform for commissions?
- Why is it crucial to clearly define commercial use rights in your commission terms of service?
- How can artists protect themselves from fraudulent chargebacks?
- What are three content strategies mentioned that can help artists build a community and stand out?
- What is the primary danger of underpricing artwork, and how does it impact both the artist and the art community?